Westmalle Tripel

The benchmark ale of tripels. One of my very favorites. Their cheese is pretty good too. If I stood in front of a shelf full of tripels and someone told me to grab one, this is the one I would grab without a second thought.

11.2 oz bottle. Bright golden color with a very fluffy off white head. The palate is medium, not too heavy, and the aromas seemed subdued. The flavors are great; there is some sweet vanilla, some strong fruit flavor and a really great deep spiciness throughout. A great beer, the high ABV is not noticeable because it is exceptionally smooth.

Aroma tart, bananas. Flavor is quite fruity and tart. Very freshing, not too on the sweet side. Frothy body, but has a smooth sticky mouthfeel to it. Kind of has a bitter finish to it. Really has a dry malty body, not too sweet, with a strong fruity tart character. Lemon, perhaps. A little spicy.

11.2 oz. bottle. Best before end: 02/10/10. A hazy old gold pour with tons of little floaties and a huge & fluffy off-white head. Sweet/yeasty aroma of candied sugar, vanilla, lemons, straw, and some funky mustiness. Medium-bodied with plenty of carbonation. Starts off with some vanilla and sweet caramel. Transitions to some tart green apples. Finishes with some drying lemons, grapefruits, and hints of melon. Some peppery spiciness is present throughout.

750 ml bottle from LCBO, served at cellar temperature in a tulip glass. GUSHER! DE28/08.

App.: Cloudy golden with a nice white froth. Aroma: Quite fruity – apples, apricots, pears; yeast and bread dough, sweet honey, a touch of wood and citrus. Palate: Medium body, fairly sparse and soft carbonation, somewhat astringent. Flav.: Like the nose – plenty of fruit, some toffee and caramel, a bit of yeast and bread dough, some green, minty herbals, a little citrus; sweet with some alcohol and light fruitiness.

A bit of the Dubbel side, better for me that most Tripels.

On tap at Rose & Crown in Palo Alto. Hazy golden-yellow color with a thick white head. Yeasty aroma with a little citrus. Flavor is yeasty as hell with fruit notes, sweet malt, spices, and well-disguised but noticeable alcohol. A solid, refreshing, and potent tripel.

Pours clear golden with a thick and cloudy head. Looks very nice. The aroma is hoppy, fruity (grape fruit, lemon), quite malty and some spices. The finish had something slightly unfresh. The flavor is dryish and a bit spicy. Medium bodied, smooth and dangerously easy to drink.

Pours a cloudy golden colour, looks more like a weisse beer than a tripel. Lots of aromas coming from this the strongest being the yeast and citrus notes. The first mouthful comes with a massive hit of alcohol and is fairly acidic; the aftertaste provides an equally large dry bitter hit.